Ranker’s Return - Chapter Pr

Prologue

Kung!

The giant Scorpion King, ruler of the desert, fell to the ground. It was the end of the Scorpion King, one of Arena’s greatest bosses. There was only one person standing in front of the king’s corpse.

“Ah! This time it was a bit better,” Hyeonu said as he stretched.

He was quite relaxed catching the raid boss alone. However, this was natural. So far, there hadn’t been a single monster that he hadn’t caught alone. His brilliant and perfect combat style made it possible for him to catch any boss monster, even a raid boss.

“Now what should I catch? I’ll be bored again for a while,” Hyeonu muttered under his breath. Although, he was still bored these days...

***

Hyeonu put down his cup.

“You worked hard,” he greeted the people sitting on the opposite side and then immediately left his seat.

“W-Wait a minute!”

“Hyeonu-ssi!” The front desk of the JT Telecom Professional Gaming Team, Supervisor Gang Ujong and Coach Jeong Byeongjin chased after Hyeonu hurriedly. (Front desk= organization leading a sports team i.e. staff responsible for running the team) “The salary is 100 million, 100 million! Don’t you know how much 100 million is?” Supervisor Gang Ujong uttered a sweet temptation from behind Hyeonu, but...

‘What is 100 million?’ There was a smile on Hyeonu’s face.

100 million? It was a large amount of money, but it didn’t hold any merit for Hyeonu.

He was born with a gold spoon. Yes, a gold spoon. Hyeonu’s father was the president of Freshwater Constructions, a mid-sized company. So, of course, Hyeonu couldn’t be moved by an annual salary of 100 million. Furthermore, the job of a professional gamer had the fatal disadvantage of a short life spanning three to four years. Their future would become uncertain as soon as they retired. It went without saying that a gamer in their 30s would be washed-up because they played games during the time when they should be self-improving in university.

Jeong Geonnung, a professional gamer of League of Legends—an AOS game that swept the world in the past—and who was famous for the catchphrase ‘Ddang-ddang-ddang bbang!’, had once said, “The future of professional gamers isn’t bright.”

This shadow loomed behind the profession of a professional gamer, who received a brilliant spotlight when active. Of course, becoming a professional gamer wouldn’t be a problem for Hyeonu who was born with a gold spoon...

‘I’m tired of it now.’

The problem was that he had lost his interest in the game, Arena.

1st place on the consolidated server rankings...

1st place in character level...

1st in arena points...

Additionally, his items were worth tens of millions of won in cash.

What was the fun of being a professional gamer in a field that had already reached its peak?

‘Quit and focus on reality. I need to inherit my father's business.'

Hyeonu decided to leave Arena.

***

“G-Group Leader-nim!” Kim Daeri, one of Arena’s developers, shouted in a desperate voice. “It’s serious!!!”

“...What is it?” The leader of Arena’s general planning team, who was tired from a series of late night work, rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“Player meleegod!”

“...?”

“He deleted his character!”

“W...What?!?!” The leader of the general planning team was shocked.

“S-Stop him! Hurry!”

“H-How do I stop him??”

“No matter what you have to do, stop it! What are you doing right now?!!”

“It is already deleted, Group Leader-nim...”

“Hah, what should I do now?”

Kim Daeri asked the leader of the planning team, who sat in the chair like his soul had been drained, “Has the professional debut of ‘meleegod’ been abolished then?”

“You’re f*king saying that? You jerk!!! Come up with an alternative somehow!!!”

For the planning team, meleegod and Hyeonu were the springboard to take Arena to the next level as Hyeonu was always unique. In particular, no one could compare to him in terms of control.

‘An incomprehensible control’—these were the words that described Hyeonu’s combat style. He caught monsters in ways that no one expected. It was the case with his first solo raid as well as in a war where he fought against some rankers. The group leader of the planning team had no doubt that Hyeonu’s colorful and perfect combat style, in combination with his handsome appearance, would be enough to shake up the virtual reality market. Now, Hyeonu’s sudden deletion of his character drove them into a panicked state.

“Group Leader-nim, this is a no smoking area...”

“Shit, is that important right now? I’ll just pay the fine. Sigh...”

The leader of the general planning team touched the cigarettes he had promised his wife he had quit smoking.

***

One year and eight months passed.

“Hey, Gang Hyeonu, is it already your final year’s vacation? Time passes by really quickly.”

“Not at all. It is just the end of the boring time.”

Hyeonu felt refreshed during the vacation of his final year. This was the moment when he could see the end of his military life, which seemed like it would never be over. Time had passed by well until he became a wounded soldier. Before he knew it, he had become the king of hard living. From that moment on, it became more boring as he became a living, breathing invisible soldier and continued the free military life.

Due to the nature of the troops’ vacation leave, it had been a long time since Hyeonu last returned home.

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong.

“What? No one is at home? Open the door.”

Upon arriving at the front of his house, Hyeonu pressed the bell as usual, but there was no response. Eventually, he pulled out the keys from deep in his wallet and unlocked the door. As he crossed the yard, Hyeonu thought it was strange that he couldn’t hear any noises from his mother and the helper auntie.

“!!!” Hyeonu entered the house and was shocked. Every corner of the house was covered with red stickers. What the hell was going on? Why were there red stickers stuck all over the house that was fine during his previous vacation...?